Control some of the greatest ever PlayStation characters in an explosive brawler.

Battle as classic video game icons including Sly Cooper, Kratos, PaRappa the Rapper and more.

Take on up to three of your friends offline and via PlayStation Network across a variety of competitive and co-operative modes as you fight on constantly evolving battle arenas.

Throw your favourite characters into the mix

This supercharged showdown is a celebration of the stars and games that made PlayStation a household name. Not only can you play as your favourite hero, villain or mascot – you also get to duke it out in some famous PlayStation settings. Each battle arena is a visual mash-up of two well-known games: LittleBigPlanet mixed with Buzz!, for example, or God of War partnered with Patapon.

You probably thought you’d never see the day when a hulking Big Daddy stomped on a cute little Sackboy, or a Fat Princess flattened a Helghast commander in full body armour. It’s this unique blend of action and comedy, shaking up different genres and art styles, that makes PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale so fresh and fun to play. Every character has a backstory, revealed in short cutscenes as you rise through the ranks, reminding you who these combatants are and what they’re fighting for.

Every character sounds great, too – from Heihachi’s growling as he dishes out the karate, to Daxter’s cheeky taunts and Raiden’s deadpan put-downs. And as for the accompanying soundtrack – let’s just say you’ll recognise a few tunes from the likes of PaRappa the Rapper, LocoRoco and LittleBigPlanet.

A star-studded line-up

They’re some of the best-known names in the PlayStation universe and they’re all in one place for the very first time. Take your pick from 20 classic characters and learn how to master their trademark moves. Every fighter has some personalised Super Attacks packed into their arsenal – including Sly Cooper’s Flying Raccoon, Nathan Drake’s Stone Pillar and Sackboy’s Bad Guy BBQ. Pull these off at just the right moment to totally obliterate your opponents.

Your official roster of PlayStation superstars includes:

Big Daddy (BioShock)

Cole MacGrath (inFAMOUS)

Colonel Radec (Killzone)

Dante (Devil May Cry)

Evil Cole MacGrath (inFAMOUS)

Fat Princess

Heihachi Mishima (Tekken)

Jak and Daxter

Kratos (God of War)

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)

Nathan Drake (Uncharted)

PaRappa the Rapper

Raiden (Metal Gear)

Ratchet and Clank

Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet)

Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil)

Sly Cooper

Spike (Ape Escape)

Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal)

Toro Inoue (Together Everywhere!)

The ultimate PlayStation bust-up

Unless you’ve spent the last few years in a remote hippy commune, you’ll know a thing or two already about the eminent heavyweights in PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale. Kratos, Cole MacGrath, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank – a total of 20 characters from some of the best video games ever released have come together for the fight to end all fights.

There are plenty of ways to pick a fight as a single player: choose Arcade Mode to lead your chosen fighter to victory or enter a Combat Trial to complete a series of brawls with special rules. If you need to limber up first, try out Practice Mode to beat up a training dummy or take an in-depth tutorial to learn every single move at your character’s disposal.

To defeat your foes, you’ll need to keep your All-Star Power Meter charged up by scoring as many hits as possible. When you reach full power, you’ll be able to unleash some mighty Super Attacks that will destroy your opponents for good. Watch out for special themed items that will help you in the heat of battle, such as the Hedgehog Grenade from Resistance and the Gravity Shield from WipEout.

The more the merrier

In offline battles, four players can face off in one big PlayStation free-for-all. These are standard rumbles to see who can rack up the most wins. To mix things up, choose the Versus Match to customise your fight settings and unlock new features such as extra costumes and taunts. The in-game camera will track the movement of all four combatants, making sure you see each other at all times.

You can take part in tournaments made up of ranked online battles via PlayStation Network. For a quick fighting fix, simply search for available opponents and jump straight into an unranked match. The online leaderboards will let you see how you’re doing against your friends and the rest of the world, at any time.

PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale is also available on PlayStation Vita: if you buy the game on PS3, you’ll be able to download the PS Vita version at no additional cost. Both games offer Cross-Play, meaning you can pick up your PS Vita and carry on where you left off on PS3 – or vice versa. You can even set up online multiplayer matches between both platforms.

1-4 Players

Network Features

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1-4 Network Players

Network Play

If you buy the PlayStation 3 version of PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale on Blu-ray Disc then you can also download the PlayStation Vita version from PlayStation Store as part of our special Cross-Buy offer – at no extra cost. But hurry, this Cross-Buy offer expires on 31 March 2016.